


Public Face and Personal Happiness

by navaan



Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Established Relationship, Interviews, M/M, Secret Identity, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-04
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-02-03 09:12:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1739213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navaan/pseuds/navaan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone wants to know if there's someone special in Superman's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Public Face and Personal Happiness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mithen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mithen/gifts).



> Happy Birthday, ! Thank you for running [superhero_muses](http://superhero-muses.livejournal.com/) (that community does wonders for my writing stamina) and for always writing awesome fic!
> 
> First published on my [Journal](http://navaan.livejournal.com/141441.html)

He doesn't feel the warmth of the spotlights, doesn't mind the brightness. He could fly close to the sun and not only be fine, but be stronger for it. 

No, his palms are getting sweaty for another reason.

“So, is there a Mrs. Superman?” The brightly smiling host, Linda Lake, asked and looked at him with an obviously practiced expression of polite interest and girlish excitement. He had know this was coming the moment he had agreed to be part of this program, the _Metropolis Insider_. It wasn't like people weren't asking him the very same question all the time, with a wink and a smile, or sometimes with a hopeful expression.

Even Lois had asked the question in one of their very first interviews.

He didn't mind terribly.

People just loved this kind of thing.

And one day he might even be able to tell them the truth.

But not today.

So he smiled and shook his head. “I'm afraid there isn't, Mrs. Lake,” he said, happy that with the phrasing he was only half lying.

“No special person in the life of such an amazing hero?” she asked. He shrugged, listened to her gushing, smiled some more and knew that she'd be happy at the way Superman's visit to her show had turned out.

* * *

“You're not mad?” he asked, feeling quite sheepish and silly for flying here at superspeed to find Bruce sitting in front of his computer, looking at the crimes of the day, the recording of the _Metropolis Insider_ playing in an open window on the right side of the screen. He wasn't looking at it, but he'd known Batman long enough to know that this didn't mean he wasn't getting every little detail of it.

“Mad about you being on television?” Bruce asked back and then put a hand on his chin, frowning at the file of a recent bank robbery. “You'd think I'd be used to it by now.”

He rolled his eyes. “Mad about what I said on television.”

Bruce frowned, turned his chair to look at him. “I'm a bit confused how you ended up on this kind of program, but there's nothing to be mad about. It happens to me all the time. Out of costume.”

“The channel will run a charity for the orphanage that burnt down last week in exchange.”

“I see,” Bruce said and turned back to his work. “That makes sense.”

“So, you're not mad?”

“Clark, I would have been mad if you'd called me Mrs. Superman on life television. That doesn't really go along with the image Batman has cultivated over the years. And honestly I'm not giving up the name if we're getting married. I hope we're both aware of the fact. You could be Mr. Batman if you want. ”

“Okay. But I'm not going to change this into a bat,” he said gesturing at the curving red form of the Kryptonian letter on his chest.

“Out of the two of us I am the one parading around as rich bachelor leading the life of the modern Casanova. I'm not sure I'm in a place to criticize my lover for pretending to be single on live television.”

He nodded. “I just wanted to make sure.” Bruce huffed and he leaned over the back of the chair to press a light kiss to his cheek. “I have to head back. There's an article I want to get in...”

Bruce nodded, distractedly and Clark rolled his eyes. There was no way to get Bruce to focus on anything, but the case before him´for long. Not if he was like this. He was out of the cave in the blink of an eye – just as Dick Grayson came walking down the stairs, carrying a plate of sandwiches and a cup of coffee that Alfred had obviously prepared.

“Was that Clark?”

“Yes.”

“So, there's no Mrs. Superman?” he asked with a mischievous smile. 

“Just as there's no Mrs. Batman.”

Dick chuckled. “It's always amazing how he pulls of lying so well when he's Superman and gets asked stupid things like that, and is completely earnest in everything he does anyway.”

Bruce peered up at Dick with a thoughtful expression. “You should know all about performing a role, Dick.”

“Oh, I do. Still it's Clark... and Superman.” He gave a one shoulder shrug before leaning forward to look at the open case files and set down the plate and cup in front of Bruce.

“He's also an alien who grew up in a small town in Kansas where everybody knows his neighbors.”

“Right,” Dick said and smiled. “That's why the two of you fit together so well, huh?”

Bruce smirked. “Tell Tim to suit up. We have work to do.”

“Right,” Dick said again, but didn't stop smiling.

* * *

He returned to the Daily Planet with a woosh, changing out of the costume on the roof, only slowing down on his way down the stairs to straighten his tie and glasses, and slipped back into the News Room as if he'd not just made the trip to Gotham and back.

Only few people were left working at this hour. So he walked over to Lois, who was sitting in front of her computer, chewing a pencil and lost in thought. When she heard him approach she looked up, tapped the end of the pencil lightly against the corner of her lips, as if she was still considering something, and asked: “You weren't gone long. So, no trouble in paradise then?”

He smiled sheepishly. “No, he's a very understanding person.”

Lois chocked down a laugh. “Yeah, that's what everybody says about him, of course!”

Clark shrugged, aware that he got to see a side of the Batman that only a handful of people got to see.

“But, hell, what do I know. How do relationships even work for people with secret identities?” she whispered. “Do you even know his name?” 

He rolled his eyes. “Met his family. The whole deal, yes.”

This time she laughed. “I'm not sure meeting all the bat kids in masks counts, Clark.”

Of course, she knew that masks weren't any good to keep your identity a secret around Superman – if he didn't decide to respect your secret. But apparently she knew he would never just peek. “Out of masks. He met my folks, too.”

That made her look up. “That serious?” There wasn't any surprise in her expression, just some bemused fondness. “I hope Mr. Batman knows how lucky he is.”

“Well, Mr. Superman thinks he's the lucky one, so there's that.”

She chuckled some more. “You know what?” she asked and shut down her laptop. “Let's go, have a snack! And you can tell me all the supersecret sordid details without all the important bits you can't talk about, yes?”

She jumped up from her chair and grabbed her bag then slid her arm through his and he let himself be pulled along.

The story he'd wanted to type up could wait.


End file.
